Yuna looked down at the cliff. The pitch-black precipice seemed bottomless, and falling would mean instant death.

‘Should I die? Or not…?’

She clenched her fists and tried to lift her legs, but she couldn’t bring herself to leap over the cliff. Her acrophobia made her dizzy. Yuna collapsed at the cliff’s edge.

“No! I absolutely can’t do it!”

Yuna felt defeated. Falling from the cliff would hurt. She couldn’t die.

‘I’ll just go hang the laundry…’

In the end, Yuna postponed death once again today.

* * *

“May! Did you finish hanging all the laundry?”

“Yes.”

Yuna wiped the sweat streaming down her forehead under the blazing sun. The wooden laundry basket was too heavy. This place, with no fans or air conditioning, felt stifling.

Her name when she lived in Korea was Kim Yuna. She was twenty-seven years old. However, that name held no meaning in this place.

Yuna, who had lived a corporate life waiting only for payday each month, found herself possessed by a maid living in the Avria Empire after a traffic accident.

A maid. In other words, a servant, and coincidentally, her name was also ‘May.’

‘Not even a surname…’

Of all the people to possess, why did it have to be such a commoner? Yuna felt deeply sad.

This world was the romance fantasy novel 「The Male Lead Has Gone Mad」 that her friend had recommended.

The male lead tormented the female lead terribly to confirm her love, and the female lead became so battered by the villain-like male lead that she was unrecognizable before eventually finding happiness. However, the process was extremely treacherous.

While reading the novel, Yuna sometimes thought the male lead might be a psychopath. 

Thrillers didn’t suit romance fantasy, but seeing how the male lead eliminated people around the female lead and tormented her nearly to death, this novel might be a thriller with barely a trace of romance.

However, Yuna found herself possessed not by the protagonist but by a mere supporting character who would simply pass by, working at the female lead’s mansion.

‘Maybe it’s fortunate. That I’m not the female lead…’

Still, how wonderful it would have been if she had at least become the only daughter of a baron.

“May. The young master is calling for you.”

“…Yes.”

She straightened her apron and smoothed her hair. Climbing the mansion’s second-floor stairs, she knocked on Fabian’s door.

“Lord Fabian. I heard you called for me?”

“Come in.”

Fabian was fifteen years old, the younger brother of the protagonist Heidi Atkinson. He seemed extremely busy.

“May. Would this outfit be good? What about these shoes? How about this hairstyle?”

Fabian turned his head this way and that, showing off his hair slicked back with oil. His raised shoulders suggested he wanted to show off his groomed appearance to Yuna.

“…I’m not sure?”

Yuna didn’t know much about clothing from this era. And whatever Fabian wore didn’t particularly interest her. The same went for his hairstyle and shoes.

“May! Please give me a more serious answer. Please?”

“…What should I say?”

At Yuna’s words, Fabian’s face turned bright red. Just when he seemed about to shout with a slightly angry expression, a beautiful voice like rolling jade beads was heard.

“Fabian. Are you bothering May again?”

“Sister.”

Heidi emerged from her room dressed elaborately in a pure white dress. The white dress embroidered with gold thread looked expensive to anyone’s eyes. Heidi’s father, Count Atkinson, was determined to marry Heidi off to a duke.

“May. Would you do my hair?”

“…Wouldn’t it be better if someone else did it?”

Yuna glanced at another maid. Heidi tilted her head.

“You used to do it well before?”

That seemed to refer to ‘May’ before Yuna’s possession.

May’s memories remained, but somehow she couldn’t recall the unimportant ones. Right now, Yuna knew nothing about non-modern hairstyles.

“…I lack the skill. I’ll accompany you to the party.”

Heidi glanced at Fabian. After confirming that Fabian’s face looked thoroughly excited, she nodded.

“Fine. You just need to take care of Fabian.”

“Yes.”

Since Fabian followed Yuna around so much, she had somehow become his personal maid. Thanks to this, Heidi seemed to like Yuna despite her lack of particular talents.

Heidi messed up Fabian’s carefully styled hair.

“Miss! Sister, stop it!”

“Do you think you can gain popularity with women like this? Here, fix his hair again.”

Fabian’s cheeks were puffy, and Heidi laughed cheerfully while calling for a maid. Even though her younger brother by five years had surpassed her height, Heidi still saw him as completely childish.

These siblings got along remarkably well. That made Yuna feel a bit sorry for Heidi, who would catch the duke’s attention.

However, Yuna had ulterior motives for accompanying them to the party. She wanted to see Duke Kyle Salas, the male lead with blood-red crimson eyes, shimmering silver hair, and above all, an extremely beautiful face.

Since Yuna was just a supporting character who wouldn’t catch the duke’s attention anyway, she wanted to see such a handsome man at least once. How many opportunities would a commoner like her have to see a duke?

‘I can’t miss this opportunity.’

She would definitely see him. Like a fan curious about how a novel’s live-action adaptation turned out, Yuna’s heart pounded with excitement.

“May. Won’t you help me choose a suit to wear to tonight’s party?”

Fabian, his face bright red, grabbed Yuna’s sleeve and pleaded.

Yuna looked up at Fabian, who at fifteen was already 170 centimeters tall—ten centimeters taller than her.

“Why me?”

To Yuna, who had no interest whatsoever in Fabian, he simply looked like a cute younger brother. Other maids said they couldn’t understand her attitude.

[Young Master Fabian likes you, May!]

[…But he’s still a child.]

[Oh my. He’s the heir to Count Atkinson’s family. Maybe he’ll take you as a concubine! Even if not, you could get something out of it.]

Get something from a fifteen-year-old child? Though her exterior was May’s twenty years, inside she was twenty-seven. With any conscience, she couldn’t extract anything from a child.

“May. I want to wear the suit you choose for me!”

“Ah… alright.”

Even in reality, Yuna had terrible fashion sense, and it was the same now. Thinking she could just pick something randomly, she entered Fabian’s room.

Rummaging through the wardrobe, she pulled out one carelessly.

“How about this?”

Fabian’s face turned deathly pale.

“Uh… uh… Is that your taste, May?”

“…It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

Don’t people here wear floral patterns? Yuna held out a suit embroidered with bright red roses, and Fabian looked deeply troubled. However, he soon accepted the suit with resignation.

“Then May, please step out.”

“…? I’ll help you change.”

“…No. I’m embarrassed, so face the wall.”

“…Yes.”

Fabian spoke quite firmly and called for another maid. Though Yuna was practically Fabian’s personal maid, he received help from other maids when changing clothes.

Yuna stood facing the wall and waited until Fabian finished changing.

* * *

Yuna hugged her hungry stomach and walked to the kitchen, hoping to get something to eat.

The old kitchen had all its windows thrown open and was chaotic with boiling and baking. In this hot summer, bread and cookies were baking on one side while chicken stew simmered on the other.

The white bread without mixed grains that nobles ate looked delicious and made her drool, but no one paid Yuna any attention.

“May. You won’t be able to eat dinner, will you?”

Lily, who harbored considerable jealousy toward Yuna, spoke. Lily subtly bullied her simply because Fabian only paid attention to Yuna.

“Why can’t I eat dinner?”

Lily’s nose went up in the air.

“Hmph. You have to accompany Young Master Fabian to the party. So you can’t dine with us.”

“…But I can eat food at the party, right?”

Everyone stopped cooking and stared at Yuna. She felt awkward for no reason.

Head cook Georgina spoke solemnly.

“May. Just so you know, commoners eating food meant for nobles causes big trouble. Of course, if the young master gives you food, that might be different. But it’s better not to eat. You could be mistaken for a thief.”

“…Then I should pack some bread as a lunch box? Give me some bread, Georgina.”

Georgina waddled her fat body and tossed Yuna a single black, hard piece of bread. Yuna caught the bread mid-air and put it in her apron pocket.

“Thanks, Georgina.”

Georgina waved her hand dismissively, and while everyone labored, Yuna leisurely left the place.